Opposite Corners clearly suffers from Multiple Screenwriter Disorder (MSD), a disease that strikes films without a clear raison d'ętre. The number of screenwriters conveniently coincides with the three story lines the movie tries to tie together. First there is the boxing story-line, with Bryant Donatello (Billy Warlock) a young man trying to please his overbearing ex-boxer Mafia-connected father Augie (Anthony John Denison) while protecting his alcoholic and abused mother (Cathy Moriarty) and also battling in the Golden Gloves competition. Second, there is the Mafia story, which focuses on Augie’s brutal attempts to control his little corner of a larger Mafia empire, often to the chagrin of his bosses and underlings. Third, there is the After School Special story line of two teenage best friends struggling with their sexuality.

The boxing sequences often fall flat, as it is clear the participants are pulling their punches or swinging to miss. Billy Warlock is not a bad boxer, but neither is he good enough to have us believe he could compete for the Golden Gloves. It might be unfair to expect a low budget film to match the standards set by Raging Bull, but director Louis D’Esposito often doesn’t appear to be even trying. Opponents throw punches at quarter speed or miss opponents by a foot yet somehow send them reeling into the ropes.

The other two story lines are also not successfully rendered. The Mafioso in the film -- while boasting the film’s one guilty pleasure: Frankie Valli offers a decent impersonation of a Mafia boss -- are wan imitations of those already seen in The Godfather and Goodfellas. The story of teenage boys trying to understand their sexuality is given little screen time and appears to be the victim of the editor’s blade.

As for the actors, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini looks uncomfortable as Bryant’s trainer. Cathy Moriarty’s career appears to be reaching a moment of critical mass in Hollywood, as it often does for 40-something actresses. She is now, as Bryant’s mother, reduced to parodying her earlier great work in the aforementioned Raging Bull. Billy Warlock’s performance as her supposedly deeply conflicted boxing son is about as convincing as a paper tiger. Of all the lead actors, only Anthony John Dennison is even remotely interesting, in the role of Bryant’s thug of a father. His maniacal rages keep our attention when the rest of the film threatens to leave us punch-drunk.

Dan Jardine

DVD version:

Null

Directed by Louis D'Esposito
Stars Frankie Valli, Jay Acovone, Anthony John Denison, Ray Mancini, Cathy Moriarty, Billy Warlock
Studio/distributor: Paramount